CenterBook Partners LP Trims Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

CenterBook Partners LP lessened its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 43.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,774 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 109,445 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,335,084 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $805,506,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279,495 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,572,567 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $303,902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,631,332 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,779,254 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $194,082,000 after buying an additional 1,020,587 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,155,138 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $122,737,000 after buying an additional 2,185,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,241,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WBA. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 0.3 %

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $10.88. 2,810,123 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,905,776. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.10. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.08 and a 52 week high of $18.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a PE ratio of -1.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.10. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. The firm had revenue of $38.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company Profile

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc operates as a healthcare, pharmacy, and retail company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Retail Pharmacy, International, and U.S. Healthcare. The U.S. Retail Pharmacy segment engages in operation of the retail drugstores, health and wellness services, specialty, and home delivery pharmacy services, which offers health and wellness, beauty, personal care and consumables, and general merchandise.